Tag Archives: science fiction

In this last entry in the Sinbad series, Sinbad sh’en Singh, abruptly growing tired of the younger generation’s condescension, kicks over the traces. Taking his youngest son and a grandson on a journey to the places he and wife a Andi visited on that fateful journey over half a century before, he prepares for one last adventure…

…which doesn’t go as planned, when son Mal is abducted and find himself on the way to the Slave Pits in the Fringes.

Since this is the last novel in the series, I wanted to tie up any loose ends and answer any question left dangling in the other novels…that’s the reason for the rather lengthy story—as well as weave an adventure worthy of a final curtain call for my hero.

Bringing in characters from other stories, some now as advanced in age as Sinbad but no less active and still as adventuresome, as well as introducing some new one who are also a bit of a challenge, I’ve woven a story that I will is a great finale for this series.

I think when all’s said and now, the reader will feel satisfied with how the story ends, and will consider all his questions answered…along with having a Happy Ever After ending (for a change).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Toni V.Sweeney lives in Lincoln, NE where she writes SF/fantasy novels under her own name and romances under her pseudonym, Icy Snow Blackstone. She is also promotions manager for Class Act Books and reviews books as a certified professional reader for the New York Journal of Books Online.

I’m still trying to figure out how to get out of answering this question, but my best bet—which also is clever marketing genius on my part, inserting my novel into the first question–is to look at my comically anti-heroic and extremely acquisitive Allan in CommWealth and his puerile fascination with the model Erica:

The front door opened to his ring. “Well… Allan,” Erica Thora said stiffly.

God, she’s a piece! Does she know exactly how much of a bastard I am? Guess the news is everywhere by now!

“Hey… yeah… is Richard in?”

“He’s in the living room. Look, it’s almost eight. I’ll be late for my tryout if I don’t get a move on.”

Erica stood six feet tall, with short dark hair, a round face, thick and kissable lips, deep brown eyes. She wore a tight red sweater outlining her enormous sensuous knockers. And tight black pants. Wasp-waisted to boot. A model. Allan couldn’t help but look her over. She put on a tight leather jacket, breasts thrusting everywhere, and zipped it up.

God, she’s fantastic! Richard’s so lucky!

In food:

A huge plate of nachos with guacamole and jalapeños, and two very large and salty margaritas. Of course, I can’t remember the last time I had either of those.

In clothes:

Are you kidding? I’m a guy. I just cover myself properly in public. Although maybe someday I’ll get a great big gray military-looking overcoat; I’ve always wanted one.

What is your greatest weakness (example: like mine cars)?

I hope this isn’t one of those job interview questions where you try spin your weakness into something you think will be of great advantage to your prospective employer, as in: “My weakness is that I write every night and produce novel and after novel after novel and I just can’t seem to stop …”

A weakness is the form of temptation/obsession to acquire might be flashlights, clocks, and wrenches. Don’t ask me why. I’ve learned to not buy these when I see them.

If you could have any kind of car, what would it be?

A 1973 VW Beetle engineered to 2017 standards, but still looking identical to 1973. It would be red-orange. Surely automotive engineers could do that if they really wanted to.

Your dream home – mountains or ocean?

Ocean, on the beach, with a disposable house on stilts which could be abandoned in the face of a hurricane. It would have minimal replaceable furnishings. I’d probably have one of my favorite paintings in there, but it would be small enough that I could stash it in the back seat of my 2017 1973 VW in the event of apocalyptic weather.

What inspired you to become a writer? To write this book?

1950’s Grade B science fiction movies got me started in the second grade. Then fifth grade assignments to write short stories, based on the current week’s list of a dozen new words to master, really sparked an upsurge in creativity. But in high school the movie 2001 floored me and inspired me to take the writing much more seriously than I had before.

CommWealth came from a long detailed dream. I labeled the anti-hero “Allan Larson” in my initial write-up of the dream the next day, though of course it was the dream “I” experiencing this bizarre plot. Allan/me was thus demonstrating from the start his easy adaptation to the property-less society as he requested every object that struck his fancy and hauled it all back to the mansion he’d booted someone else out of. The dream was so complete and compelling that the first draft rolled out effortlessly.

Do you have a daily writing routine? If so, please share.

If possible I prefer to work in the morning, especially for rough draft work, as I’m freshest then. A session of two to three hours is ideal. All other writing takes place in the evening after work. I always have something cooking as I navigate each day by what project appeals to me, which one has the most energy resonance. I write just about every day.

I do almost all my work on my laptop, though sometimes I cut up printouts and tape notes to notecards which I can physically sort across a large table. I have a 1940’s Royal manual typewriter I sometimes use to bang out early notes. If any prove useful I’ve found I can scan and OCR the results.

What is your favorite book?

My favorite author/book is probably Franz Kafka and The Trial, which I’ve read several times and have also listened to as an audiobook. The fact that Kafka is more and more regarded as a humorist (especially in Europe) resonates deeply. His biographer Max Brod recounts scenes of Kafka laughing as he reads portions of The Trial to a literary group, whose members are also finding the book deliriously funny. To me there’s a psychological dimension of this humor that goes far beyond what we might now call “black comedy.”

What is your favorite movie?

2001: A Space Odyssey. This film really jolted me when I first saw it in March 1969 (though it had come out a year earlier) and was a catalyst for deciding to become a writer; never mind that I’d been writing since the second grade–I just didn’t have the confidence to declare myself a real writer until 1969.

Who is your favorite historical figure?

Abraham Lincoln fascinates me because of his rich psychological makeup. Ulysses S. Grant is also a fascinating figure to me because of the courageous, if also cold and calculating manner in which he prosecuted the end of the Civil War.

In your books, who is your favorite hero and please introduce him?

My favorite hero of this book is the completely over-the-top anti-hero Allan. The insanity of the six-month-old CommWealth system, in which all private property has been outlawed and citizens are required to share everything, finds its expression in Allan Larson as he glibly procures electronics and a Porsche in the first scene. Allan is a narcissistic playwright and actor who forces Forensic Squad to stage his mediocre play Cabaret. Supercilious, clueless, and manipulative, he’s claimed a mansion in Linstar Heights, surrounding himself with expensive cars and gadgets. He both needs friends and is quick to betray them. As a writer he thinks he should express his buried truths, but he’s too fearful to find out what they really are, and when crime tempts him, he sees it as just another avenue to fulfilling his needs. He considers himself too creative to be bothered making backup copies of his writing, and it’s only by luck that he gets a digital copy of Cabaret back after his laptop is claimed by another citizen along with all his wide screen TVs, sports cars, and motorcycles. Though he has a certain measure of charisma, he’s basically a loser, and the only way he can get his love object Lisa is to demand thirty days’ ownership of her as per CommWealth regulations.

Who is your favorite heroine and please introduce her?

In CommWealth, Erica Thora, the beautiful model girlfriend of bicycle mechanic Richard, initially seems to be a two-dimensional background figure, especially when Allan, tired of the apparently brainwashed Lisa, begins cataloging his lust for the physical attributes of the exceptional six-foot beauty. Yet Allan is shocked to find out that the buxom model is really thirty-seven, six years his senior, and mature and decisive in ways that terrify Allan and in fact are unknown to her own boyfriend Richard. Erica’s father, a policeman, taught her how to shoot everything from hunting rifles to semi-automatic weapons, and it’s her courage and practical insight that finally challenge the folly of CommWealth. She would definitely be at home in a Robert Heinlein novel.

What do you have out now? Excerpt, blurb, book trailers

Summary:

The CommWealth system, introduced just six months previously, has created a society in which there is no legal claim to any kind of private property. Any object from your house to the clothes you’re wearing can be demanded by anyone, to be enjoyed for thirty days before anyone else can request it. As actors in the Forensic Squad theatrical troupe adapt to this giddy chaos, CommWealth probes their breaking of the Four Rules sustaining the system, and several members navigate a twist of betrayals, double agents, and murder to find themselves leading a suicidal revolution.

Excerpt, during which Richard’s secret writing, the object of a property claim by a mediocre writer, becomes exposed to the CommWealth inspector:

“Dammit…” Richard flung himself back into his seat. “So what do you want?”

“I’m sure you do know what I want,” Hardy said crisply.

“I sure don’t. Forgive me, most glorious sir, but I’m just so full of ungenerous greed that I just can’t think right these days, you know. So why don’t you lay it all out for me in all your compassionate wisdom?”

Jill sighed. Hardy pursed his lips. Jill saw he was suppressing a smile.

“Of course, it has to do with this,” Hardy said, pulling the newspaper from beneath his laptop and aiming his CommScan lens at it. “We see that this newspaper exists at the Cup of Fog at 208 North Carson Street on Monday, December 18, and was open to the page containing this particular full-page notice, strongly implying that all the persons in this room are familiar with the contents of the notice.”

“Jesus!” Richard said. “So you guys want it now! Sorry, but this other twit claimed it first.” He laughed bitterly. “Maybe you can get it thirty days from now!”

“You really don’t understand, I see. Are you aware that works of art, including writing, are of a different order than, say, coffee pots and tennis balls?”

“The thought had crossed my mind a few times.”

“I’m speaking of Modal Property Assignations, Mr. Stapke. CommWealth Central recognizes several grades of MPA’s, though not many people seem to realize this. Perhaps it’s our fault. People have been having so much trouble memorizing the Four Rules, that…well, life is complicated enough, you know.” He strained through an offensive little smile and then steeled his features at Richard’s frown.

“The MPA on works of art,” he went on, “is as follows: artworks are considered taxable property, and taxes shall be paid to CommWealth Central on a monthly basis.”

“Taxable?” Richard exploded. “That’s insane! There aren’t supposed to be taxes! That’s the whole point of CommWealth! People just ask for what they need! So who needs taxes? Who needs money, for that matter?”

“But the point is, many people don’t realize they have certain needs. They spend their lives in ignorance,” Hardy countered. “So CommWealth determines what their needs are, and allocates resources accordingly. Thus we need taxes in certain cases. It makes distributing so much easier, you know.”

“You—you’re saying—I owe taxes on unpublished writing?” Richard said.

“Exactly.”

“What the hell would I pay taxes with? We don’t use money anymore—or at least, nobody has much of it anymore. Does CommWealth want some old bicycles?”

“Oh, no, you misunderstand completely. I see I’m not such a good explainer, Mr. Stapke. There’s a special MPA Writer’s Tax. You owe—let’s see, I would roughly calculate your output, based on this newspaper ad, at between one and three hundred pages per month—about—let’s see, seventeen percent. That’s not too bad.”

“Wait a second—I never said I actually had any writing. I was just being hypothetical. This Horranger guy assumes I have writing, you assume I do, but really—someone just made this up. I don’t write. I’m a bicycle mechanic.”

Jill put her hand to her mouth.

Oh my God! We agreed to lie—but—this is CommWealth! This is treason to CommWealth! Richard’s ruining my business! My life! What am I going to do?

“Mr. Stapke,” Hardy said, tapping something ominous into his laptop, “let’s assume that your entire last statement was hypothetical. In that hypothetical case, in which you are a mere bicycle mechanic, of course you owe no Writer’s Tax. But, since you do have writing, and since you are a writer, you owe seventeen percent.”

“Of your output, of course. Let’s say you produce two hundred pages per month, maybe fifty-thousand words, as you do seem quite prolific. Of that, seventeen percent, or thirty-four pages, or eighty-five hundred words, would be sent to the CommWealth Central Tax Assessor’s Office.”

“What?” Richard and Allan both cried.

“If you produce more than say, five hundred pages a month—if you’re a real barn burner, that is, it goes up to fifty percent. So, of course, it’s best to stay around two to three hundred. We know that nobody wants to lose half his writing.”

What’s coming?

In addition to several literary novels in various stages of development, I’m working on a science fiction series from another publisher, and I just released a fun experiment in which I took a sixth grade science fiction story that decades later sparked that series, drew sixty-five illustrations for it, and self-published it as a picture book. Somehow the ludicrous kid story works with the modern illustrations and comes off as an adult work. Though I never intended this as a serious writing project, I’ve never done anything quite like this before and the whole effort has been deeply satisfying.

I’d think this was true, and this stellar group of best-selling authors sets out to prove it!

Baby, It’s Cold in Space

Travel off-planet for the holidays. Set thrusters to max with these steamy science fiction romance stories by eight exciting authors. Each SFR novella in this anthology delivers the perfect holiday gift—love—to warm readers during the coldest season of the year.

Only $.99 –A limited time offer from New York Times & USA Today bestselling and award-winning authors of fast-paced science fiction romance!

Included in Baby, it’s Cold in Space

I’LL BE ON NEW LONDON FOR CHRISTMAS by MARGO BOND COLLINS

When Gabi Esser joined the Galactic Coalition Fleet Marines, she dreamed of seeing the universe. Instead, she’s sent to New London–the most backward planet in the Coalition–to protect one of its silly nobles during the holiday season. Now the duke she’s guarding wants her to pretend to be his date at several Christmas parties, and she’s more intrigued by him than she wants to admit. They can carry this off without falling in love … but only in their dreams.

THECLIMATE OF LOVE: THE UTUQUQ CHRONICLES; BOOK 1 by BLAIRE EDENS

Sent on a research mission to Utuquq, a planet that’s avoided the pitfalls of climate change, Lauren Hascamp has a year to learn everything she can to help scientists save Earth. Pukak, the Keeper of History for The Siku, the tribe inhabiting Utuquq, is drawn to Lauren and her stories of a world with no winter. Interest turns to passion, but when the priest who expressly forbade it discovers their affair, the couple is forced into the Unknown, a land of brutal cold and limited resources. Trapped in a dwelling made of ice, Pukak and Lauren must overcome the brutal cold, the lack of resources and the murderous intent of the Siku Priests if they have any chance at surviving.

Agents of the Interstellar Council of Abolition and Rescue tracked a slave-trading criminal across the galaxy to his latest location–Earth, where the pickings are easy and profits are guaranteed. Mingo County Deputy Sheriff Jace McCoy has a stack of cold cases on his desk–dozens of lost souls who have gone missing from his rural West Virginia jurisdiction. There’s a kidnapper stalking the wintry mountain hollers, a killer with someone close to Jace’s heart next on his list.To save her, Jace will need Rescue’s help, and a whole new way of thinking about the stars.

STILL LIFE by JAYNE FURY

His future is her next target. Astrobiologist Ewan Stewarts won the chance of a lifetime: terraforming paradise from a cold lifeless planet. Sexy ninja freedom fighter Captain Jodeen Benson’s mission is on a collision course with his dream. If she succeeds, she’ll save millions of lives but destroy one: his.

Kear’yl is a proud Vzekian space ranger who has fought great battles, defeated many warriors and traveled the universe, but there’s one man she’s always avoided: her human stepbrother Houston. But she can’t deny that Houston’s good looks and strong body set her three hearts on fire. When her stepmother plans a family Christmas on Wixilia VIII, and Kear’yl is tasked with picking up Houston from Earth to join their family, her spaceship breaks down in deep space, trapping them together. Kear’yl finds that her growing attraction to Houston may be the best Christmas present ever.

ANGELO 13 by ROSALIE REDD

Forbidden to express emotions, clone Angelo Thirteen longs to experience one feeling above all others–love. When a tenacious, young, female Altonian retrieves him from his drifting space pod, he may just get his chance.

STARGAZERS by DIANA RIVIS

She’s traveled the multiverse on dangerous missions before, but this time her heart is on the line. Special Agent Kendra Voray of the Inter-Galactic Alliance is forced to work with Valon, historian and second born son of one of the ruling families of the planet, to determine how a Calivan artifact ended up on Earth hundreds of years before inter-dimensional space travel. Kendra doesn’t have room in her life for relationships, but Valon makes her feel things she never expected.

LIGHT UP THE DARK: A StarDaemon Novella by SELENE GRACE SILVER

Twenty-something girls just want to have fun. How can Nadiah explore her sensual side when her overprotective father is a powerful telepath who reads and controls the mind of any potential mate? An impulsive joy ride to Jagron’s sex palaces is her first opportunity to take a lover, but instead, she wakes up to find herself trapped in a space cell with a huge, mute alien. By the time they escape their kidnappers, she’ll have more than a solo trip dirtside to explain to Daddy.

About the Authors

MARGO BOND COLLINS is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of paranormal romance, contemporary romance, and science fiction romance. Her website is http://margobondcollins.net.

JAYNE FURY has worn the hats of personal chef, coffee roaster, copy editor, corporate drone, and Vegas cocktail waitress. She writes science fiction pulpy romance full of high-action, booty-kicking women and the men who fall head over heels for them. Her website is http://jaynefury.com.

ROSALIE REDD pens paranormal, science fiction, and fantasy romance in her office cave located in Oregon, where rain is just another excuse to keep writing. Her website is http://rosalieredd.com.

DIANA RIVIS writes science fiction romance and her novella, Star Gazer, was a finalist in the RWA FF&P 2016 On the Far Side competition in the category Hard Sci-Fi/SciFi/Futuristic fiction.

SELENE GRACE SILVER writes paranormal, science fiction and contemporary romances that prove opposites attract and love often strikes like a flash of lightning. Her website is “http://selenegracesilver.com.

I wanted to share a short selection from the first book, Third Exodus, in the science fiction series, In the Days of Humans, which I have always personally found moving. I hope you enjoy it!

Evah was early and stood alone in the desert on this unusually cloudy morning for this wasteland, at the agreed upon coordinates. A clear path was worn in the hard earth as she paced while waiting. She hoped that they would arrive soon. Evah checked her watch for the thousandth time, and then heard what sounded like three mighty drum beats off in the distance. That must be the sonic booms of the Yamakarā, she thought to herself. They would be here any minute!

Scanning the sky in the direction of the last signal of its approach she finally saw what she was searching for. As large as a mountain and with the magnificent wings of a mighty, ancient black dragon, the Yamakarā punched through the cloudbank and glided silently to a stop on top of a choking blanket of rushing air, dust, and sand. She caught herself jumping with joy and clapping her hands like a schoolgirl as the vehicle rolled to a stop. Heat radiating from the ship made it seem alive, overheated, and weary from its long journey. This was not the spacecraft that left Earth four years ago; it was something completely different. Something beautiful, but not of her world.

She quickly moved to place the portable stairs where the external hatch should be and secured everything in preparation for the egress of the crew. Almost convinced it was taking too long and there must be something wrong, she sighed with relief as the hatch opened inwardly and one of the young engineers stuck his head out, waved, and shouted a greeting. To her surprise, as the crew departed the ship her eyes welled with tears of joy. Her long departed crew had finally returned home, if only for a short while.

~~~~~~~~~

What is your greatest temptation:

Well, this is probably not the time or place to say anything incriminating. So instead I’ll have to say curling up on the couch with my wife, a piece of turtle cheese cake, and some Netflix binge watching instead of sitting down and writing. Sounds odd for a writer to say this, but there are those days when you have to step back and feed the soul and creative spirit by getting lost in some dessert….uh, I mean a good movie.

What is your greatest weakness (example: buying shoes)?

Good food. I’m not talking about cheesecake – which I do have a weakness of which I’ve already confessed – but I’m talking reeeaallly good food. I’m talking Godfather Italian food, Greek dishes that would humble Cesar himself! The kind of meals that physically leave you feeling physically happy and like you’ve just experienced something special.

If you could have any kind of car, what would it be?

Hmmm, probably a $5M luxury motor home. 🙂

Your dream home – mountains or ocean?

I think I could get very happy in a home on Fiji. However, a house halfway up the mountains would probably be more practical, as I’m told zombies can’t climb mountains that well.

What inspired you to become a writer?

Like most of us I am the result of a lifetime of experiences. Becoming an author was a culmination of practicing my writing over the years through my private journals, school assignments, work products, etc. Also realizing in my fourth decade on this little planet that I have always been a creative individual, and for recent history I had put that creative person on the shelf.

It wasn’t until I was driving home one summer afternoon in 2012, after having a string of particularly bad and uninspiring days at work. I was feeling defeated, burnt out, and questioning the point of everything that I had worked on professionally up unto that point. That’s when the seed concept for a story popped into my mind. And over the course of the next few days I toyed with the idea, fleshed it out a little and decided that there was enough there to possibly write a book on. Coupled with the need to produce something that was wholly and uniquely my own, I started writing. Four years later the series is complete along with a handful of short stories! At some point along the way I became a writer. J

While being a writer had never been part of my life plans, I am quite comfortable now with the idea of being a full-time writer, and I’m putting wheels in motion that will hopefully lead to that being a reality.

Do you have a daily writing routine? If so, please share.

Yes. I either have a routine, or I don’t. 🙂 But in all seriousness, with a challenging day job at NASA, and as a husband and father of a young family, routine is a bit of an amorphous concept for me.

When things are going smoothly, I often write during my lunch break, or after the kids go to bed, and sometime first thing in the morning before everyone wakes up. There are moments I steal during the weekends, and at times I take a day off from work and hide someplace to write.

It’s not a preferable routine, but because time to write is at such a premium, I think that I’m more productive because of it, and in general are much more focused when I do get the opportunity to sit down and pound on the keys.

What is your favorite book?

Hmmm. Another tough question. I would have to say that it’s three-way tie between: The Sleeping Dragon by Joel Rosenberg, Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein, and Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. These three in their own unique ways fundamentally impacted and shaped the way I would later regard creativity, religion, politics, fairness, work ethic, and personal relationships.

If you ever get the chance to read any of them, and can allow your mind to experience them for what they are, I think you’ll be glad for the journeys.

What is your favorite movie?

Ha Ha! This one will probably surprise many. Despite it’s campiness, I would have to say it’s The Last Star Fighter. It has all the elements of action sci-fi, the innocence of a first love, one-man against an entire armada, being thrown into a situation you didn’t ask for or want to be in, and good guys winning in the end against all odds.

It’s a simple movie with aging special effects, but the spirit of the movie and the familiar tropes make for an enjoyable, feel-good experience for those nights when you want to enjoy some 80’s nostalgia from your youth.

Who is your favorite historical figure?

Wow, not even sure I can answer this one. I think any notable historical figure has both a story of greatness to tell, but also one of personal tragedy. We have Herodotus the Greek historian of which much would have been lost if it were not for him. We have the great leaders of the major religions of which in their original teachings taught of love, kindness and faith. We have great military leaders who defended their people against overwhelming odds. We have even more recent figures like Mother Theresa and the current Dali Lama who’s insight into the human condition is humbling with their every word.

So for me to attempt to pick out just one, would be an impossibility and an insult to all the great things that have been done and said by so many others.

In your books, who is your favorite hero and please introduce them?

This is a very hard question to answer! When writing my books I try to develop several characters who are likeable for different reasons and thus will be endeared to different people.

The definable leader through most of the series, In the Days of Humans, is Col. Zune Adamini. He’s the guy that has to make the tough decisions where there are no good options to choose from.

Evah Adamini, married to Zune, she is a strong woman who not only works as a partner in all that Zune has to do, but also is an integral part of deciding who of humanity will survive, and ironically enough, later is critical in setting up a new society on Mars.

Red Turango is the classic, loveable, oversexed flyboy. He’s the best space pilot there is. And while he seems absolutely incorrigible, beneath the overt flirtation and innuendos lies a sensitive heart and a smile.

Tar’Day – more on her later. 😉

Gov Okoloise, he is the leader of the Mars colony and childhood friend of Zune. While he’s a war-hardened veteran, he is a gentle man who would walk to the ends of universe for Tar’Day.

Capt. Tau Themba is Zune’s first officer. Tau is the reflection us all. He’s fully capable of great things, but is held back by his own insecurities framed by past traumas. But like the ugly duckling, through the course of the series he is forced by events to step out from Zune’s shadow and meet his destiny full-on.

Dr. Amina Khan – Afrikaan woman and lead scientist for the mission to Mars. She graduated from the top university in South Africa in physics and has worked for the last 15 years as the continent’s lead engineer to reverse engineer foreign technology and mathematics. Her intelligence is the only one that surpasses Zune’s and they from time to time would enjoy a game of oware. While Zune felt sure she probably understood more than most mortal humans, her engineering background enabled her to made it understandable to everyone else.

This is but a small sampling of the cast of characters in this series, but there are many more for you to fall in love with.

Who is your favorite heroine and please introduce her?

I have to say, and yes I’m biased, that my favorite heroine is one of the central characters in my series, In the Days of Humans. Her name is Tar’Day an in the first book of the series, Third Exodus, she starts out as an engineer on humanities last mission to Mars. Up until this point in her life she largely led a life taking cues from the universe to determine where she was needed and could add value. And prior to landing on Mars, it had worked out well for her.

However, once the team landed on Mars, the universe’s needs of her became increasingly demanding and soul scaring. But through it all she played her part, guided by what she knew to be right even when it flew in the face of conventional morality. In the end she was one of the most despised of what was left of humanity, yet their survival will hang in the balance of her selfless decision to follow the lead of the universe.

To me she exemplifies the best of what we can be, but also what happens to many of us when we try and do the right thing and are rewarded by criticism, or worse yet personal loss, while other benefit from your kindness. But at the end of her life, it became clear had it not been for the trials in her life, she would have not been in the right place at the right time to ultimately save humanity.

New releases anytime soon?

Yes! The final volume, Evolutions, in my science fiction series, In the Days of Humans, is out this month! You can find it on pretty much every on-line book vendor.

“Stunning finale of an epic series!” reported by one advance reviewer.

In the fight for survival, there is no right and wrong, only life or death.

Twenty Earth-years have passed since the first child was born on Mars—humanity’s survival outpost after evacuating amidst the destruction of the planet they called home. Life has settled into idyllic predictability…until an alien artificial intelligence merges with Col. Zune Adamini, revealing a glimpse of the darkness to come.

Zune struggles with the colony’s leadership to take action, forcing him to cross the thin line between morality and necessity. With no option but to send their children into harm’s way, everything humanity has on the line is threatened in a battle against a seemingly unstoppable enemy whose only goal is to annihilate the threat of humans.

In the final moments, when humanity’s flame is at the brink of being extinguished, all will hang on Tar’Day realizing her destiny. But will it be enough?

Evolutions is the final volume by Terry R. Hill in the action-paced science fiction series “In the Days of Humans”. The series is packed with action keeping the reader on the edge of their seat, while woven together with philosophical elements that will deeply satisfy those who enjoy the works of Heinlein and Vinge.

For those who love science fiction wrapped around the human element, Evolutions, is a must read!

Greetings, Kenneth! You have very interesting answers to your interview questions, not the least of which, by any means, is your publishing history. Welcome to the Chateau.

Tell us a little about yourself:

I am a multifaceted creative person whose mind is always working. I am a web designer by trade, a writer, play guitar, drums, and sing. I am also working on an Andriod app and an epic RPG in Unity3d.

NOW FOR SOME QUESTIONS

What is your favorite book? Don’t really have a favorite book, but really enjoy the collected works of CS Lewis.

What is your favorite movie?

For me, it’s a toss up between Back to the Future and Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.

Who is your favorite historical figure?

Jesus Christ

What is your greatest temptation:

In women: I’m very happy with my wife.

In food: I do have a sweet tooth.

In clothes: To want what I don’t have money for.

What is your greatest weakness (example: Mine is cars)?

PC hardware.

If you could have any kind of car, what would it be?

Right now, I really want an Avalon. If I can have anything, I’d want a Tesla.

Your dream home – mountains or ocean?

Mountains.

ABOUT YOUR NEW NOVEL

What inspired you to become a writer? To write this book?

I find inspiration in the most unlikely places. I had always been a storyteller but I didn’t realize it. Mostly I told stories through making adventure games with Adventure Construction Set on my old Commodore 64. I took creative writing in college and started writing on Sunday afternoons. After a failed attempt at a book, I didn’t write for a long time. Then I saw a show that really inspired me to write again. The result was my first novel.

Dark City was inspired by a short article talking about the darkness of people’s hearts and how that might be viewed by an Artificial Intelligence.

Do you have a daily writing routine? Please share.

Get up, have breakfast, get ready for the day. Do some Facebooking, check email, then write until lunchtime. After lunch write until its time to get dinner started or the creative juices wane.

Tell us about your hero.

In Dark City, his name is Jeremiah Xidorn. He is a mobile tech working for a smart house tech company. He quickly discovers that everything he thought was real for the past six months was only a simulation and he was being tested by a group of Sentient AI called the Builders.

Is there a heroine in your novel? Tell us about her.

Not in this one.

What do you have out now? I have Harmonic Differential, Cadre of Vampires, and now Dark City.

What else do you have planned, writing-wise?

I’ve written a fourth entitled In My Blood; there is a plague on an alien world and emissaries have been sent out to find the Chosen One. They find him on Earth in Thomas Anderson. He is whisked away to the Whirlpool Galaxy where he must find a cure to scourge. The cure is found in his own blood, but he must decide if he will sacrifice himself to a people not his own, and a planet that is not his.

I’ve nearly finished with a rough draft for Dinus Sonus. A newspaper reporter goes out early in the morning and hears all the children on the block vomiting all at the same time. He must find out the cause. The answer and the cause both come from another universe.

Also I’ve started a yet-to-be-titled work about a young man taken from his bed and signed into a covert space Marine program for 20 years. He is then returned back in time to when he was taken.

“I’ve been promoted. I am now in my boss’ position.” Joe flailed his arms with glee.

“That’s great. Congratulations!” they all said in unison.

“Where’s Joe?”

“I don’t know. He just left. An appointment I guess,” Sarah responded.

“The ’droids are settin’ things up, so I’ll stay out of their hair for a bit.” Jeremiah spun around as if to show off to his friends. . Something was off, but he couldn’t pin it down. Joe had disappeared, and no one seemed to know where he went.

“I’ll find him,” he told himself and bolted for his new office.

The androids had done their work quicker than expected, and Jeremiah’s office was quiet when he got there. He had to use the scanner to get in. Immediately, he was taken aback. On his desk were pictures of his family that he didn’t put there. Setting that thought aside for the moment, he jacked into the phone system and sent the sequence to dial.

He called Joe’s office. No answer. A moment later, he called the central office to see if Joe could be located.

The automated attendant replied, “We are sorry, that person is no longer employed at this company.”

A sense of panic raised the hair on the back of his neck. Immediately, he ran with every ounce of strength to his friend’s office. It was empty. No trace that Joe worked there or had ever worked there was found. It was swept clean.

“Maybe I went to the wrong place,” he thought. “All these offices look the same.”

To his own chagrin, he knew too well the location of his friend’s office. The paranoia built to a steady state when, upon finding his other compatriots, they had no knowledge

that Joe had ever been part of their group. Jeremiah’s heart sank. He even checked the payroll office and no trace of his friend could be found.

Even in his emotional state, he couldn’t detect any emotion coming from the people behind the desk. It was as if they had been replaced by replicants. “Yeah, thanks. I will.”

Jeremiah made his way to a CAB, slid in and told it where to go. He was going over to Joe’s house. The place where he lived was no longer a single family dwelling, but a high rise multi-unit condo style building. There was no trace that Joe ever existed.

Jeremiah checked the street sign to make sure the CAB didn’t take him to the wrong place.

Rose McKenzie may be far from Earth with no way back, but she’s made a powerful ally–a fellow prisoner with whom she’s formed a strong bond. Sazo’s an artificial intelligence. He’s saved her from captivity and torture, but he’s also put her in the middle of a conflict, leaving Rose with her loyalties divided.

Captain Dav Jallan doesn’t know why he and his crew have stumbled across an almost legendary Class 5 battleship, but he’s not going to complain. The only problem is, all its crew are dead, all except for one strange, new alien being.

She calls herself Rose. She seems small and harmless, but less and less about her story is adding up, and Dav has a bad feeling his crew, and maybe even the four planets, are in jeopardy. The Class 5’s owners, the Tecran, look set to start a war to get it back and Dav suspects Rose isn’t the only alien being who survived what happened on the Class 5. And whatever else is out there is playing its own games.

In this race for the truth, he’s going to have to go against his leaders and trust the dark horse.

Dav stared at him until the Tecran turned away, then he walked over to the one cell that was different.

He could feel Geeʼs eyes on him, sense Appalʼs interest, as she also picked up what he was seeing.

This was the cell of an advanced sentient. He could see a chair and table, a handheld tablet and a bed made up with sheets and blankets. He looked up and down the row, but this was the only cell set up like this. He looked over at Gee, but the captain was still turned away, his shoulders stiff.

Dav shrugged. Heʼd be wasting his time trying to get anything out of the Tecran. Borji could give him the lens feed. Give them an idea what they would find on Harmon.

He walked out of the holding area, taking a deep breath of clean air when he and Appal were on the other side of the closed door, although now that the air filtration was working again, the smell was not as bad as it had been.

That, or heʼd gotten used to it.

“He didnʼt know the explorer craft had left the ship.” Appal almost whispered the words.

“No. We might have to consider this was a rescue and revenge mission.”

“Someone rescued the prisoners, punished their captors?” Appal looked at the dead Tecran littering the passageway. Whistled. “Some punishment. What were they holding in there? If Borji is right, whoever they are they hijacked a Class 5ʼs internal systems and used it against itself.”

“Whoever or whatever they are, I donʼt think the Tecran realized they were quite so powerful. Or perhaps they simply have powerful friends.” Dav frowned. While the animal in the launch bay looked fierce, in fact sent a primal chill down his spine, he had the sense it wasnʼt an advanced sentience. But one of the prisoners definitely had been.

“Weʼre going to Harmon?” Appal asked, and there was a keen edge to her words.

“Weʼre going to Harmon.”

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Michelle Diener writes historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction. Having worked in publishing and IT, she’s now very happy crafting new worlds and interesting characters and wondering which part of the world she can travel to next.

Michelle was born in London, grew up in South Africa and currently lives in Australia with her husband and two children.

When she’s not writing, or driving her kids from activity to activity, you can find her blogging at Magical Musings, or online at Twitter, at Google+ and Facebook.

The author will be awarding a $50 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour! a Rafflecopter giveaway

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I know everyone is anxious for the blurb and excerpt, but R.J. Merle kindly agreed to write a post. Enjoy!

The Craft of Writing Fantasy

One of the interesting aspects of crafting Fantasy fiction is presenting a world, actions, abilities, or behaviors that are out-of-the-norm in a manner that makes those traits believable and plausible in your story.

As you can see in the overview blurb, the Children of the Elements Series features fantasy attributes.

When nature refuses to be controlled, can mankind endure? Brainwaves altered by a covert government project based out of the Secret City of Oak Ridge, the Children of the Elements are brought together and tested as weapons of mass destruction. Their struggle to free themselves and survive in the hostile East Tennessee Mountains creates massive chaos and threatens to bring about an apocalypse.

Savage Winds, the first book in the series, shares the story of a little girl able to direct the wind with her wind play, and features the technique of presenting extraordinary features in a normal, every-day world. The children live in the East Tennessee Mountains and their psychic gifts are a part of their daily lives. Also, techno-geek Stedford Thackett, an eighteen-year-old whose story spans all five books, with his awkwardness and clumsiness, tends to ground the story more deeply in reality.

Even in fiction where the worlds are fantastical, there tends to be normal aspects of the characters that are endearing and relatable to the reader, so that the fantasy characteristics of the story tend to be accepted as real and believable.

Basically, blending the implausible, as seamlessly as possible, within the plausible assists in presenting more believable story aspects and presents the story happenings as plausible when crafting Fantasy fiction.

BLURB:

Savage Winds (Children of the Elements, A Secret City Science Fiction Adventure Series, Book 1)

A dangerous conspiracy unfolds…
In Author R.J. Merle’s whirlwind start of the Children of the Elements series, a clumsy teenage techno-geek struggles to protect kidnapped children from a covert government organization responsible for creating their abilities to control the five elements.

A mighty wind…
Eighteen-year-old Stedford Thackett’s conspiracy theorist brother ensnares him in a real life children-as-weapons plot, while a determined scientist grooms happy-go-lucky five-year-old Darcie Lynn Carpenter to use the wind as a deadly weapon.

Out of control…
Despite the firm hand of Scientist Nora Hicks, Stedford struggles to rescue the kids and escape, even as Darcie Lynn fights to gain control of the surging power of the savage winds.

A Word-o-Gram for the series would include descriptions to include Psychic Powers, Telekinesis, Apocalypse, Electro-Magnetic Pulse, Zombies, and Mutants.

In an office deep inside an East Tennessee mountain, Nora snapped a black leather-bound book closed.

Except for the carved stone ceiling, the office mimicked a non-descript working office in Anywhere, USA. Bulky military-issue metal and wood furniture stood as a harsh legacy to the covert Secret City project and to the starkness of her life.

Sitting at the borrowed hulk of a desk in a dank underground office, she asked, “Why was this kept from me?”

Across the desk in a guest chair, General Gardner, with thin hair sprouts sprayed into place, said, “Ever since Oak Ridge existed but did not even appear on a map, the city continues to hold and foster more than its share of secrets. As a trusted senior scientist and manager of the project, Dickenson claimed you and your son were the only ones involved.”

“How long have you known there were more of us?” Her grip on the desk’s metal edge forced her gloved hands to stop shaking. The usual underground chill pressed into the heat of her temples and an off-putting tartness oozed over her tongue.

Were Scientist Daniel Dickenson not already dead, she would kill him with her bare hands.

Slowly.

–from Savage Winds

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Author R.J. Merle stepped out of the realm of Top-Secret documents (shh, don’t tell…) to write sci-fi and paranormal fiction.

R.J. survived and escaped both the entertainment field and the government-contracting environment, craves the Walking Dead, and entertains what-if tidbits about “supposed” technological and biological advances.

No stranger to the goings on in the city of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, R.J. Merle blends a down-home flavor with a former in-the-know—hypothetically, of course—technical background to craft the twists and intrigue of Secret City Adventures.

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Enter to win a $50 Amazon gift card. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

After the sudden deaths of two previous Computer Love Inc. CEOs, Marius takes control of the company. Embracing the talents of his godson, John, and his best friend, Zak, he hires the boys to oversee the Companion Services Division. Marius refines his breakthrough technology, the Brain Machine Download, and as a result, creates his double, M2, as the prototype. Together, they ignite the future of Computer Love Inc. by acquiring an elite team of scientists to expand the company’s technological boundaries. Meanwhile, Marius struggles with the government’s demands for a clandestine initiative – the Secret Service Companion. Between the looming government presence and the overwhelming force behind his new team of inventors, can Marius survive the outcome of his own creations?

Enjoy an excerpt:

“So, Marius, I’m pleased, as I’m sure you must be, that the download between you and I went so well.”

The remark was sudden and bewildering.

“Yes, I am also pleased…” Marius paused. “What brings that up, M2? Is there something you feel we need to improve upon?”

“No, actually, I don’t think that at all. In fact, I think the process and aftermath have proven to be extremely fruitful, don’t you?”

“Well, yes… But then, what is it?”

“I just recalled an idea we had, that’s all,” M2 said.

“’We’ had an idea?”

“Well, as you know, to say that we think alike would be an understatement.” M2 paused and allowed Marius to have a laugh. “So obviously your knowledge of robotics resides not only within you, but within me as well. I know you’ve thought about it, the possibility to help the company pounce into the next generation. What if, say, we were to make a team of Companions, not unlike myself, created from experts in different fields? For example… We could use that famous technology instructor, the woman from Advance Propulsion Labs who’s won awards for all of those groundbreaking projects they’ve done recently, or even that metal-loving genius who combines materials recovered from asteroids with titanium and such. It would be a team of biorobotic and propulsion brilliance with unlimited potential!”

About the Author:

Kurt and Jessica Hansen reside in northern New Jersey . Kurt has worked in the aerospace electronics industry for over three decades and enjoys the outdoors, writing, and composing music. Kurt is easily recognized with a guitar in his lap, a pencil in his mouth, and a piece of paper in front of him.

Jessica graduated from Montclair State University, summa cum laude, with a B.A. in English. Her favorite pastimes include reading, running and spending time with her family. She can usually be found with a book in one hand and a hazelnut coffee in the other.

The Computer Love Inc. series is a collaborative effort between father and daughter.

A very interesting premise, The Face Transplant promises, in my opinion, to be a fascinating read:

BLURB:

Dr. Matthew MacAulay is a Facial Transplant Surgeon at a prestigious New York hospital. His friend and mentor, Tom Grabowski, dies under mysterious circumstances. Matthew is forced to investigate. He uncovers his friend’s secret. A new technique that allows perfect facial transplants. No incisions, no scars. The surgeon is able to transplant one person’s face to another with the perfect result. Tom was able to accomplish this monumental feat with the help of Alice, a supercomputer robot with almost human abilities. While trying to find the people responsible for murdering his friend Tom, Matthew realizes he is the prime suspect. Matthew must flee for his life with the help of Dr. Sarah Larsson, a colleague and reluctant helper who has a secret of her own. Alice helps them make sense of a baffling series of seemingly unrelated events. Matthew is forced to undergo a facial transplant to hide his identity and help to uncover the truth. The clues carry Matthew and Sarah around the world. Matthew stumbles onto a sinister plot of monumental proportions, the real reason Tom was murdered. This discovery leads Matthew all the way to The White House with a dramatic conclusion. Matthew never wavers in his quest for the truth and perseveres against all the odds. He must race to stop a major catastrophe, ratcheting up the excitement until the thrilling conclusion. The Face Transplant is a powerful medical suspense thriller of the first order. The novel was written by a surgeon. The novel has a realism that only a surgeon can bring. The plot weaves politics, medicine and espionage into a tightly paced, intelligent thriller. The novel crescendos page by page to a totally unexpected conclusion.

Excerpt:

The missing face is found

The titanium canister slowly rose from the ground behind the glass door. When it finally stopped, two beeps were heard. Jason opened the glass door and took out the canister, a soft cold mist emanated from the canister. Maybe it was the temperature difference here, Matthew had never seen that when he brought up his canisters. The white mist slowly rose and then disappeared. Jason opened the titanium canister. As he had suspected, a red light began to flash. Matthew realized the canister had been altered. A signal was alerting someone that they had opened the canister.

Jason, “Don’t worry, I anticipated this, the wall will not allow the signal to transmit, we’re safe.”

Jason slowly removes the head from the canister. It is covered in what looks like a thin white cloth and wrapped precisely. Same technique used for all donor faces in the US. This face was harvested by Tom, no doubt about it. Slowly they unwrap the face.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Robert was born in London, United Kingdom. His early formative years were spent in Toronto Canada. Robert attended the University of Toronto Medical School. After obtaining his Doctor of Medicine degree he completed surgical training in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Toronto and obtained certification from the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Robert Mounsey practices surgery in private practice in Toronto.

Arundel studied Film Studies at Ryerson University, after this he began writing screenplays and novels. The Face Transplant is his debut novel.

Arundel is married and lives in Toronto, Canada. When not writing or practicing surgery Robert can be found cycling.

I asked the author what inspired the gods and goddesses in Anthem’s Fall. Here is the interesting answer:

The race of men and women on Anthem uncovered their godlike power in an ancient and victorious war for survival. Their power is called Sejero genetics, and it has been passed down through the heredity of several Royal bloodlines for two thousand years.

When these people, or rather some of these people, were given the strength of gods, they abandoned the things that made them men. An important aspect of Anthem is that not everyone is extraordinarily powerful. Some classes of the populace are entirely “regular”. It’s a world not unlike ours, except for the fact that some men harbor impossible power on their blood.

The most omnipotent among them long ago created an empire unchallengeable for all of future time. No weapon can harm their perfect flesh, no technology can trump their transcendent selves, and no one can possibly dream of overthrowing their rule. At the apex of this power structure is House Epsilon, the purest family bloodline of the dynastic empire.

Yet this world of gods is only introduced at the moment of its fall. For a new technology is created on Anthem, and with it are born terrible machines created using the very power behind their strongest sons and daughters—Sejero genetics. The machines come to topple the cities of Anthem to the sounds of a holocaust, and bring a race of warrior-gods to its knee.

When I conceived the world of Anthem, I hoped to create a vision of a future that looked paradoxically more like our past than any genre-established depiction of a sci-fi future. I like to call Anthem my own little anti-dystopia. It’s a terrible place to live, and one that is home to historic and modern atrocity. Anthem is futuristic, and has advanced technology, but I think you’ll find it reminds you more of ancient Sparta than a futuristic society you might expect in a science fiction novel. It’s a world run by warriors, brutal and cruel. They live by the code that the strong must overcome the weak lest the strong become weak in turn.

The Epsilon Empire isn’t ruled by subtlety or any “Big Brother” kind of complex hegemony. The fists of a few men with horrendous inborn prowess rule Anthem. On the other side of the spectrum, it’s also not depicted as a Valhalla, Asgard, or Krypton with larger than life “fatherly” figures with altruistic agendas. It’s a brutal place run by…well, bastards.

And their whim is the law.

In the moment of Anthem’s fall (as in, Anthem’s Fall), the fate of this strange world and our world will be decided upon by only two young men—the newly made emperor of Anthem and a lost exile banished for refusing to partake in the genocide of an inferior race. Each one of them is the son of a powerful family, and to us they are gods. But they may find that they’ve underestimated the novel’s heroine, a young scientist living in New York City.

BLURB:

Above a horrified New York City, genetics and ethics collide as the fallen emperor and a banished exile of the same herculean race ignite into battle over the city’s rooftops. In the streets below, a brilliant young scientist has discovered a technology that can defeat them both, yet might be more terrible than either.

Set both in modern New York City and in the technologically sophisticated yet politically savage world of Anthem, Anthem’s Fall unfurls into a plot where larger than life characters born with the prowess of gods are pitted against the shrewd brilliance of a familiar and unlikely heroine.

EXCERPT:

The sharp knife of apocalypse struck without warning, burying itself into the unsuspecting skies of a sun-swept afternoon.

In the northernmost continent of Anthem, the remote city of Municera abruptly reported massive and inexplicable reports of rioting and hysteria. The limited transmissions that came out of the city were fragmented and unclear. Imperial Army regiments were at once dispatched to restore order to the city of Municera, yet all troops lost radio contact within minutes of their arrival. Powerful reverberations shook through the surrounding lands, reaching miles in every direction. It felt as though the gods themselves were hammering the very world with furious impacts. From a distance, billowing black pillars of smoke could be seen reaching high into the sky above the smoldering city. When the smoke and cloud of ash dispersed in the northern winds, the glimmering skyscrapers that had long been an icon of the elegant Municera had vanished from the skyline. Their steel and glass splendor was replaced with a blanket of alarming ruin. By midafternoon, the once prominent city was nothing more than wreckage against the horizon.

Most disturbing were the spreading rumors that a number of Imperial First Class soldiers had flown into the chaos of Municera and had yet to return.

The migration out of the region—an anticipated exodus for which the Imperial Council had quickly prepared—never arrived, and as a disquieting sun set on the remaining cities of the Epsilon empire, the truth became increasingly clear. There were no survivors.

Municera had been home to seven million Primus.

AUTHOR INFORMATION:

S.L. Dunn is the debut author of Anthem’s Fall, a novel he wrote amid the wanderings of his mid twenties. He has written while living intermittently in St. John USVI, Boston, Maine and Seattle. Raised on big screen superheroes and pop science fiction, he sought to create a novel that bridged a near-sci-fi thriller with a grand new fantasy. He currently resides in Seattle with his girlfriend Liz and their dog Lucy, and is hard at work completing the next book of the Anthem’s Fall series. Get in touch at www.sldunn.com.